Tenzing

About Tenzing

Tenzing Private Equity LLP is a London-headquartered lower-mid-market growth equity firm founded in 2015 by Christian Hamilton and Guy Gillon. The firm is structured as a UK limited liability partnership authorised and regulated by the FCA, with parallel registration as an SEC investment adviser. Beyond its London HQ, Tenzing operates regional offices in Munich and Stockholm, supporting a team of more than 50 investment and value-creation professionals. The firm closed its third flagship vehicle, Tenzing Private Equity III, in July 2024 at its hard cap of GBP 900 million, more than double the size of its predecessor and oversubscribed at first close. Across three institutional buyout funds (Tenzing I 2016, Tenzing II 2020, Tenzing III 2024), the firm has total assets under management in the order of GBP 1.6 billion (approximately €1.9 billion as of December 2024), positioning Tenzing among the most successful UK lower-mid-market specialists of the past decade. The firm brand identity references Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who summited Everest with Edmund Hillary, signalling the partnership-led growth-supporting investment philosophy.

Investment thesis

Tenzing pursues a focused growth-equity strategy targeting founder-led B2B tech and tech-enabled businesses headquartered in the UK and Northern Europe. The firm typically writes equity cheques of GBP 20 to 80 million into companies with enterprise values between GBP 50 million and GBP 200 million, taking majority or significant minority positions. Target companies exhibit recurring revenue, high organic growth, mission-critical positioning and capital-efficient unit economics. Tenzing concentrates on software, data and tech-enabled services across vertical-software niches including HR, payroll, education, accounting, automotive communications, transport management, insurance back-office, talent assessment, expense management and digital media licensing. Geographically the firm operates across the UK (primary), the DACH region (anchored by the Munich office), the Nordics (anchored by the Stockholm office), France, Benelux, and selective Australasian situations. Value creation rests on three pillars: the Sherpa Programme (a structured operating-support framework deploying functional experts across go-to-market, product, finance and talent), dedicated in-house acquisition directors driving buy-and-build M&A, and an international growth platform leveraging the firm tri-country footprint. The Fund III limited partner base includes major European pension funds, North American institutional investors, fund-of-funds and family offices.

Recent activity

Recent investments include Tillo in B2B digital gift-card software (2025), Totara in learning management software (2024), Webexpenses in expense management software (2024) and Gravita in tech-enabled accounting services (2023). Recent exits include Motion Picture Licensing Corporation in media licensing software (2025), MetaCompliance in cybersecurity software (2024), Smoothwall in education safeguarding software (2021) and FMP Global in payroll services (2019). The platform continues to deploy Fund III across UK and Northern European founder-led B2B tech and tech-enabled services with strong recurring-revenue profiles. Detailed buyer names and multiple data available on Pro at €29/month.